oldschool/oldskool items

I originally thought this was supposed to mean Items from tyria and early cantha that no longer drop, like staves with HSR of specific attribute line, req 7 items, shields with dual inscription type inherent mods (-3 hexed, -2 enchanted on same shield).
Now I see people using this "oldschool" term for anything with inherent rather than inscription.
Which is correct?
Is there a right answer?

P.S. wtf is a BU? i saw someone selling and cannot think of anything with such initials...
edit: ok thats the dumbest abbreviation yet

BU = backup (essence of celerity). By the way, if you type in bu in the search for either wiki, you automatically end up at the essence of celerity page, and both of those pages have an explanation of the use of bu. Just so you know .

I think oldschool refers to any non-inscribable item.

Backup: extra essence that's used if the first one ran out before you finish whatever you where doing that requires an essence (for example UWSC)


EDIT: Dzjudz beat me to it

the term itself is stupid and it's meaning is totally up to whoever's using it's discretion. just like 'perfect'. the only thing you can count on when someone says oldschool is it's not inscribable. which doesn't really make sense, but hey.

I understand the term as being another way of saying "uninscribable", but as people are pointing out there's no official interpretation.
Since there didn't use to be inscribable items in the game and many (not me) still feel the inscribable items introduced with Nightfall ruined the game (to a greater or lesser extend), uninscribable has somehow translated into "like in the good old days", personified with the term "oldschool".
The term is used exclusively in a positive context in GW, unlike in RL where it can have either a positive or negative meaning.

Like a lot of terms used in GW ("perfect" being another example), the meaning of "oldschool" depends somewhat upon an individuals own interpretation. There is no "official" or "legal" meaning. Also, these things shift with time. Oldschool may have originally had your first meaning, but I've always thought of it a basically being a weapon with 'oldschool' stats - which basically comes down to 'no Inscription slot', but also includes a few mods that have no equivalent inscription.

BU is a term used by people who want to sell their Essence of Celerity, but only to people who know what they mean. It's like a secret code that only the kool kids know.
(Maybe they are hoping that the buyer will think that their EoC is a special kind of 'backup' EoC, instead of just a regular EoC, and they can get more for it.)

You jest, but you may not be far wrong. The sellers seem to be asking half the price of a full conset for these instead of a third of the price. I suppose they figure many buyers in ToA want to pay in ectos, so 1e is a convenient figure.

I'd take oldschool to mean an item which was once considered normal/standard before that current standard. That is, items which can not have an inscription applied to them, or items for which certain modifications aren't available. A shield from Prophecies, for example, can not have an inscription added, but ALSO can not have a shield handle applied to it. So-called perfect items which are also "old-school" are worth a lot to certain collectors because they can be extremely rare and very difficult to acquire. Find a req 9 Magmas shield with +30 health and another perfect inherent modification and its worth a fortune to quite a few people.

You should probably do some research on the cost of item crafting.

Essence of Celerity: 50 feathers (around 2.5k) + 50 dust (around 1k) + 250g + 1 skill point = 3.75k + skill point

Armor of Salvation: 50 bones (500g) + 50 iron (around 1250g) + 250g + 1 skill point = 2k + skill point

Grail of Might: 50 iron (around 1250g) + 50 dust (around 1k) + 250g + 1 skill point = 2.5k + skill point

Conclusion: the argument of 'there are 3 items so the price of one item should be 1/3 of the total price' is ridiculous. Instead, you should look at individual item cost and make individual and package prices. The essence of celerity is just under half of the total package cost. Since feathers are by far the most expensive of the crafting materials required, the essence is the most expensive of the lot. That's also why feather farming is so popular and lucrative.